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Through the Night

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AN INTRODUCTION TO BACH'S CHURCH CANTATAS

KEY WORKS

Ein Feste Burg BWV 80
Herz und Mund BWV 147
Christ Lag in Todesbanden BWV 4

    Church Cantatas - an introduction

    Cantatas, both sacred and secular, constitute a major part of Bach's catalogue of works. About 200 of them are extant from an estimated output of about 300. If this seems like a high number, it's worth bearing in mind that Bach's contemporary, Telemann, composed 1200 and Christoph Graupner almost 2000. But Bach's cantatas are marked out by the wide range of musical styles which they encompass, and the sheer quality of the music.

    Scholars in the 18th and 19th centuries borrowed the Italian term, 'cantata' and applied it retrospectively to the works of Bach and others. In the sacred context it is taken to mean music for ensemble, solo voices and chorus, in several movements, including recitatives and arias which can be settings of poetry, as well as chorale melodies and choruses based on liturgical texts.

    Bach composed most of his cantatas during his periods of service at Weimar (1713-1716) and Leipzig (1723-1729), The earliest is thought to be BWV 4, composed for Easter Day 1706, after Bach had returned from his famous journey to Lübeck and sojourn with the organist Dietrich Buxtehude.

    Bach's various appointments did not necessarily require the composition of cantatas (his Kapellmeister post in the Calvinist court at Cöthen, for example); there are over twenty extant from his four years at the court of Weimar, around but the bulk of the output was generated following his appointment at Leipzig . Bach's obituary mentions 'five annual cycles of church pieces for Sundays and festivals'.

    © Graeme Kay /BBC

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